Braking and ejecting mechanism



Aug. 30, 1938. c. HUENLICH BRAKINGv AND EJECTING MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1937 lNvEN-roR I Charles Huenllch 2 ai, 1

TTORNEY Patented Aug. 30, 1938 PATENT oFFlcE BRAKING AND EJECTING MECHANISM vCharles Huenlich, Bloomfield, N. J., assignor'to Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated, West Orange, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationApril 1, 1937, Serial No. 134,292

8 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for shaving sound records, and more particularly to the stopping and ejecting of the record after the completion of the shaving operation.

Sound record cylinders are made of Wax-like material having a surface upon which a sound track has been orv may be recorded. When such records are used in connection with business phonographs, it is customary to resurface the outer portion bearing the sound track. Such a cylinder is commonly referred to as a used record, but it is also the practice to provide a new cylinder with a smooth surface to be recorded upon. Therefore, the term record as used herein contemplates a wax or other tablet having a surface` either adapted to receive and bear or already bearing a sound track.

The resurfacing operation requires a shavingl knife mounted on a carriage and adapted to traverse a rotatably mounted record cylinder and to be held in operative relation with respect thereto. The cylinder is supported on a vcylindrical rotatable mandrel, usually motor driven, and the shaving knife is set-to take a cut of d-esired depth as the cylinder is rotated. To expedite the shaving operation the cylinder is rotated at relatively high speed, i. e., approximately 1700 revolutions per minute and rotating at that speed develops a substantial momentum. When the shaving knife has traversed the record and the motor is shut off this momentum keeps the cylinder rotating for an appreciable time. It is, of course, not approved practice to effect the ejection of the record while rotating so that it therefore becomes necessary for the person performing the shaving' operation to waituntil the record has come to substantially a state of rest with consequent loss of time.

It is an object of the vpresent invention to provide an improved construction for braking a record support and for detaching a record therefrom.

Another object is to provide a simplified braking means for expeditiously overcoming the momentum of the cylinder at the completion of the shaving operation and in advance of its ejection.

Another object of the invention is the provision o-f ejecting means which is associated with the braking means in such timedv relation with respect to the braking action that the ejection of the cylinder is initiated yimmediately upon the stopping of the rotation thereof.

Another object is providing a construction which performs the braking and ejecting op-erations by the single manipulation of a suitable member co-ntrolling these operations.

Other objects and features of the invention will more fully appear from the following description and append-ed claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming part in Which- Figure l is a fragmentary plan view of 'a conventional form of a record shaving machine, to which my invention has been applied;

Figure la is a diagrammatical view of the electric drive 'motor` and the controlling 'circuit thereof.

Figure 2 is a cross `sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevational view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure l of the accompanying drawing, a well known form of shaving machine is conventionally illustrated, the same comprising a baseplate l supported by the top portion of a cabinet C which is partly shown in Figures 1 and 2. Projecting upwardly from plate I vare left and right-hand end standards 2 and 3, respectively; also left-hand standard 4 which serves as a bearing for the shaft 5 of the mandrel 6. The standard 4 is provided with an oversized hole 4 to accommodate the shaft 5, and to prevent displacement of said shaft when the gate 9 (later of the specification and described) is opened, a collar l2 is secured to said shaft at a point adjacent to the left side of said standard.

The shaft 5 is supported at its left-hand end by a conically pointed stud 1 adapted to register with a recess 5 of the shaft 5, thus providing a thrust bearing for said shaft end. The righthand end of the shaft 5 is similarly journalled by means of a conical stud 8 engaging with recess 5" in said shaft. However, the conical stud 8 is not secured in a stationary standard but is mounted in a swinging end-gate 9 pivoted at I8 to a boss 3 provided on the standard 3. The gate 9 is closed, as illustrated in Figure l, by a clockwise rotation about its pivot until its forward extremity impinges against the right-hand extremity of a guide-rail 21. To retain the gate 9 in closed position there is provided a latch member 9' which is pivotally secured by means of its shank to a vertical post on plate l and is adapted to swivel in front of the guide rail 21. As this arrangement is well known in the art, as for eX- ample, being fully disclosed in Patent No. 465,972, granted December 29, 1891, on an application of Thomas A. Edison, it is only conventionally illustrated herein. Suffice it to say that when the gate 9 is moved to.closed position, the mandrel 6 is wholly supported by the studs 1 and 8, the latter providing axial alignmentk and also preventing appreciable end play of the shaft 5. In this position the mandrel 6 is in'true parallel relation with the guide-rail 21 and thus the record e may be rotated for resurfacing.

'I'he rotation of the shaft 5 is accomplished by means of a motor M, diagrammatically shown in Figure la, having a belt I9 passing over a pulley 26 on said shaft. For controlling the motor circuit I5 there is provided a switch I6, the switching elements of which are controlled by push buttons I'I-and I8 to open and'close the circuit I5, thus stopping and starting the motor, respective- 1y.

A knife bar 25 carries a knife 26, said bar being adjustably mounted in a projection- 22 formed upon an arm 2l of a tool carriage 2D. This carriage is slidably and rotatably mounted on a carriage rod 23 disposed behind and in parallel relation with the mandrel 6, said rod being terminally secured to the standards 2 and 3. The arm 2| of the carriage 20 is semi-circular in side elevation and is provided with a weight or hand piece 24. formed integrally therewith. The under surface of said hand piece 24 is smooth and normally is in contact with the top surface of the guiderail 121.

During the shavingoperationthe carriage arm 2| is moved longitudinally of the record A from right to left by means of a feed screw not shown but well understood in the art. A pulley 3|, secured to the shaft 5 by means of avbelt 30, rotates the feed screw, which when so rotated, may be engaged by a feed nut 32 carried by an extension 33 of the carriage 20. It will be understood that the feed nut is arranged to engage the feed screw only when the arm 2I occupies its normal resting Nposition onthe guide-rail 21 and to disengage the same when said arm is tilted upwardly.

The knife bar 25 may be of any approved type and when the arm 2l is resting upon the guiderail 2l, the knife will engage the surface of the record A to the desired depth. As the knife'bar mounting is well understood in the art and forms no part of the present invention it is unnecessary to describe the same in detail.

The apparatus thus far described is wholly conventional and forms a typical construction to which the present invention maybe applied. As previously stated, my invention contemplates a combined braking and` ejecting mechanism for rst overcoming the angular momentum of and stopping the mandrel and, as incidental thereto, ejecting the record therefrom, the same being accomplished by the manipulation of a single member.

Located at the left hand side ofthe base plate i is a combined braking. and ejecting arm 35 having a hub 36 secured-by a set screw 36 to a stud pin 31 supported at one yend by the rail. 27 and at the other end in a'bearing formed in the standard-4. An extension arm 38, formed integrally with the hub 36, is provided Vat its upper extremity with a pivoted ejecting member 39, normally spaced a short distance from the left end of the record A but longitudinally `aligned therewith .so as to impinge thereagainst when moved rightwardly to eject the record. To hold the ejecting member 39 in its normal position the arm 35 and thus arm 38 is biased by Vmeans of a torsion spring 4I coiled about Vthehub 36 and terminally secured to the arm 35 and to the base plate I. Bythis'arrangement the spring 4I normally retains theV arm 35 resting against the base plate I (see Figure .3). A lug 42 projecting from the hub 36, when brought intocontact with the adjacent `edgeof said base plate, limits the forward movement of said `arm when moved by the operator in a clockwise direction.

For overcoming the angular momentum of the mandrel 6 previous to ejecting the record, I provide a yielding brake member 45, which is pivotally mounted upon the stud 3'! and adapted to be rocked clockwise with the movement of the operating arm 35. The brake member 45 is adjacent to the standard 4, and its upper extremity is curved to form a right angle portion 4D having a recess w in the end thereof adapted to receive a friction member or brake-shoe 46. The brake-shoe 46 is arranged in longitudinal alignment with the end 6 of the mandrel 6, and is adapted to be moved into engagement therewith when the brake member Y45 is moved in a clockwise direction. To yieldingly mount the brake member 45, there is provided upon said member a laterally extending pin 47 adapted to coact with a similarly projecting pin 48 extending from the side of the arm 38 of the hub member 36. These pins are substantially the same radial distance from the stud pin 31 and are adapted to be held normally in contact with each other by means of a torsion 'spring 49 wound about lthe hub 36 and having its ends oppositely resting against said pins, as clearly seen in Figures 2 and 3. In this manner the brake member 45 is resiliently connected to the arm 35, and thus movement of said arm will impart a similar movement to the brake member 45. However, it will be understood that during the movement of the arm 35thebrake member 45 will, by virtue of its brakeshoe 46, contact with the end 6 of the mandrel 6 prior to the member 39'contacting the adjacent endof the record A, but continued forward movement of arm 38 and member 39 is permitted by the resilient connection between arm 35 and member 45. Upon such occurrence, the end of the torsional spring 49 abutting against the pin 48 of the arm 38 will be carried forward by said pin, and as a result greater torsional strain will be imparted to the member 45 to thereby cause the brake-shoe 46 to apply greater friction upon the end 6 of the mandrel 6. l

The function of the mechanism just described has been previously explained; however, since the utility of said mechanism is subject to a sequence of operations to accomplish the main purpose of the machine, a review of certain functions and operations will now be in order.

Assuming a record A, on the mandrel 6, has just been shaved and that said mandrel is still being rotated by the motor M but that it is now desired to remove said record from the machine. The first step in such operation will be to cause a stoppage of the mandrel driving means by pressing the button I 'I of the switch I 6 to thereby open the circuit I5 which operates the motor M. However, because of the high velocity to which the r0- tary parts, including the record A, have been subjected, it will be understood that normally rotation thereof will continue for an appreciable time after stopping the motor and that this would ordinarily delay the subsequent ejecting of the record. However, with my present invention, the operator may immediately after the manipulation of switch I6, and while the record is still rotating at high speed-proceed with the operation required to effect ejection-thereof by moving the arm 35 clockwise about its pivot stud 3'I. The initial movement of the arm 35 will cause the arm 38 to carry the ejecting member 39 toward the end of the record A, but before said member 39 contacts therewith,` the shoe 46 of the brake member 45, which is normally closer tothe end 6 of the mandrel 6, will have'come into frictional engagement with said mandrel end. Upon further movement of the arm 35 increased friction will be applied upon the end of the mandrel due to the torsional effect of the spring-49, which is now being constrained by the pin 48 as arm 38 is moved forwardly by the arm 35. At this stage in the movement of the arm 35, the ejecting member 39 contacts the record, but incidentally the frictional contact of the brake-shoe l5 upon the end of the mandrel will have become sufficiently 'great to overcome its momentum and stop the same, and thus further movement of said arm 35 will cause said ejecting member 39 to force the record outwardly Without damage thereto.

The lug ft2 limits the forward stroke of the ejecting member 39, .and said record when ejected will assume a position wherein its right-hand end will rest adjacent the end-gate Sl, as shown by the dash and dot line in Figure l. To protect said end of the record from damage by too forcefuly ejection against the end-gate 9, there is provided a yielding spring member 50. This member is secured to and centrally of the gate 9 by means of the screws I and extends downwardly as shown in dash. and dot lines in Figure 2. Ordinarily, the ejecting stroke of the member 35 is such as to move the end of the record in close proximity to the spring member 5U but if the record has been ejected forcefully, it will be yieldingly arrested by said member 50 without ill effects.

It is always preferable to eject a reco-rd before the end-gate il is opened; however, as in the present invention, by applying a strong braking action prior to the ejection action, no serious harm is done to the record if the end-gate should be opened immediately following the manipulation of the switch I6. Upon the release of the arm 35 by the operator the spring 4i returns the same to normal position and thus: restores the associated parts co-ntrolled by said arm to inoperative position.

While the form of mechanism herein disclosed is admirably adapted to fulfill the` objects of the invention, I do not wish tov confine myself to the same, `since the invention maybe embodied in various forms within the scope of they appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for shaving sound records, the combination with a record support and means for rotating the same, of a brake member, an ejector member, a mounting for cooperatively positioning said members with respect to said support and a record carried thereby, an actuating lever for said members, and means for applying said brake member toI said support and said ejector member to the end of the record, said operations being incidental to the actuation of said lever and in the sequence of the braking action preceding the ejecting action, whereby the rotation of said record is substantially stopped before the ejection thereof.

2. In a machine for shaving sound records, the combination with a record support and means for rotating the same, of a brake member including a shoe, an ejector member including a pivoted element, an actuating lever for said members, resilient means for connecting said members, and means for applying said brake shoe to said support and said ejector element to the end of the record, said operations being incidental and accomplished by a. single manipulatio-n of said lever, the braking action being in advance of the ejecting action but in closely timed sequence, whereby the rotation of the record is stopped before the ejection thereof. l

3. In a machine for shaving sound records, the

combination with a record support and means for rotating the same, o-f a brake member, an ejector member, a mounting for cooperatively positioning said members with respect to said support and a record carried thereby, means for applying said brake member to said support, and means for engaging said ejector member with the end of the record, said means functioning in.- cidentally and in the sequence of the braking action preceding the ejecting action, whereby the rotation of said record is substantially stopped before the ejection thereof.

4. In. a machine for shaving sound records, the combination with a record support and means for rotating the same, of a brake member, an ejector member, a mounting for cooperatively positioning said members with respect to said support and a record carried thereby, said mounting comprising an actuating lever positively connected to said ejector member and yieldingly connected to said brake member, means for normally holding said members in an, inoperative position, and means for moving said members into operative position, said braking member being rst brought intof engagement and yieldingly held in contact with said support during the advancement of said ejector member into Contact with said record, the braking power thus applied being sufficient to insure the substantial stoppage o-f the: rotation of the record before the ejection thereof.

5. In a machine for shaving sound records, the combination of a record support, a motor for rotating said support, meansfor controlling said motor, and a braking'and ejecting mechanism comprising a brake member, an ejector member, resilient means` connecting said members, an actuating lever, positive means' connecting said lever with said ejector member, a mounting for cooperatively positioning said members with respect to said support and a record carried thereby, and means for normally holding said members in inoperative position, said actuating lever, when operated upon the stoppage o-f said motor, effecting the application of a braking action to said support and record ejection.

6. In a machine. having a rotatable support for cylindrical records, means for rotating said support, ejecting means operable to` impart to a record when the same is operatively positioned on the support, movement longitudinally of the support thereby to free the record from operative engagement with the support, and meansI actuated by said ejecting means for stopping the rotation of said support.

7. In a machine having a rotatable support for cylindrical records, means for rotating said support, ejecting means operable to impart to a record when operatively positioned on the support, movement longitudinally of theI support thereby to free the record from operative engagement with the support, and a braking device effective to stop the rotation of said support upon the actuation of said ejecting means.

8. In a machine having a rotatable support for cylindrical records, means; for rotating said support, vejecting means operable to impart to a record when operatively positioned on said support, movement longitudinally of the support thereby to free the record from the support, and' means for stopping the rotation of said support, said ejecting means and stopping means being interdependent in operation.

CHARLES I-IUENLICI-I. 

